Culture

Jazz by Design: Freedom Beyond Words

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Abstract

Jazz and fashion share common characteristics—both allow the freedom of expressing strong emotions and making bold statements without words, often in response to the collective voice of the people they represent. In this study, we explored the intersections of jazz and fashion design through the lens of “freedom beyond words” applied to a collaborative stage design for a jazz concert, guided by human-centered design process. The vision was to develop a creative stage design that reflected the nature of jazz and the specific concert music, while highlighting the African roots of jazz and the performer’s own jazz aesthetic, and practicing improvisation, a cornerstone of jazz music, throughout the design process. Mostly fashion related materials, such as fabrics, embroidery hoops, and zippers were used to design a stage installation with hanging and staged elements, incorporating various symbolic pieces and highlighting the nature and historic underpinnings of jazz. 

Keywords: Jazz, stage installation design, human-centered design, fashionstage installation design, Fashion, Stage installation design, Human-centered design

How to Cite:

Ghalachyan, A. & Singleton, D. M., (2024) “Jazz by Design: Freedom Beyond Words”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 80(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.17073